Draft-arm and center-sill reinforcement for underframes.



. PATENT 1 ROBERT' Ennis, or UNIVERSITY, MISSOURI, AssIGNoR To AMERICANcan annv FOUNDRY COMPANY. OF ST. LOUIS, ,MISSOURL A CORPORATION OF NEW,IEELSEY.`

DRAFT-ABM AND CEN'rERfsILL lRnINmntoiiivriiN'r Fon UNDBFRAMES.

To all 1c/:0m 'it may foncer/i.: a Be it known that l, Ronnii'r G.liLLIs, re-

States, have invented certain new andusefulv lmprovenients in Draft-Armsand Ceii` ter-Sill Reinforcemeiits for Undertraines,

of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, such aswill enable others skilled in the art to which it appeitainsto` make andto use the same, referencea'being `had to the accompanying drawings,a'fhich illustrate v,the preferred form of the iiivention, ,though it isto be understood thatftli'e invention is not limited to V the exactdetails Aof,construction shown and described, as it is obvious thatvarious modilications thereof will yoccur to persons skilled-'inthe'art. In said drawings:

Figure l is a plan view'rof somewhat 'less than half of an underfraineinfwliichl my [draft arin and centersill reinforcement incorporated, theremainder of saidk underframe being constructed substantiallyiii'accordance with what is shown In the illustrated portion and thedraft arml being opv liositely directed;

Fig. 2 section of the construction shown in Fig. 1 3- Fi'g. 3 is atransverse section' throu'glrthe center sills and the draft arm andcenter sill reinforcement,beingtaken on line of Fig. 2 and viewed in thedirection of the Fig. 4 is another transverse view through the centersills and draft arm and is taken on the line 4 4 of Fig. Q lookingin theopposite direction;

Fig. 5 is a. fragmentary half-plan View of a modified form of my draftarm and' center sill reinforcement;

section of theparts shown in` Fig.v 5 5"' and F ig. 7 is a transversesectioiioflanoth'er modification showing thedraft ariii'iii comrbination With a single girdei serving as 'they center sillreinforcement.

The present invention relates to la draft arm and center sillreinforcen'ieiit andhas Specification of Letters Patent.

' Appiieation inea Mayas, 191'6.

is a central vertical longitudinal "cated in Figs. 1 aIidQ.

VPatentedMay 1., 1917-... sriai'nofsaui.

capable of resisting heavy coupling shocks, is contemplated.

' Another object is to so construct thedraft arn'i and center sillreinforcement that it shallA he readily vapplicable either to old or newcars. v'tilts use in 'connection lwith the cars of the earlier types,which have already` given 'long service, and the wooden ander-.lframes-ot which were designed 11i timesV prior to the advent of longtrains composed of heavy steel rolling stock and ponderous motive units,adapts the older cars to safe usage in coniunction with the more moderncars. built for more severe rail 'ay operating conditions. Referringto'tlie drawing, vthe dra-ftt'ar is pressed from a singlerectangularplate and it is to be 'understoodvtliat said draft l arm, theend sill, bolster', etc., are to be dupliated at each end 'of the car..For v(ainve'nience of descriptioii that p01 tionof the draft yarmintermediate thebolr,

sterand the next adjacent end sill is hereinafter referred' toI as theouter endr and the.

poiftio1i1 tlieieo'f from'l the forward edge of 'thebolster to' the end`intermediate. the ,bol

sters 'is referredto a'stlie inner ,end.

y In the drawing,'tl'ie horizontal web; l of `tlie draftarini'scontinuou rom the inner,-vl`

ll A, as indi-iv end-of said arm tothe end B indi aites'tlie usualbod f,bolster `and C the usual wood center silis stiil found in many old carsi'eniainingin service;

The inner end ofthe draft arrir comprises the web 1 before Vtreferred t0employed asaI connector foi-tivo, spaced and relatively U- shaped centersill embracing portions D-D,`

each of which includes a' vertical portion 2,

ahoiizontal seat yupon which rests a Woot" n 4 A vsill C anda secondverticalfportion 8 Iparal- Fig. is a central vertical longitudinalulel'ing the vertical portion 9..

:'- Thje v'ei'ti #al draft arm ','ortion` and S,

respectively onl the iiiiiii' and outer faces .of

`the wood sills C, with tlicportions T 'form-. longitudinal pockets intoIalich are 'reif ceived said wood center sills.;

YBeginning approximately at the longitit .A

ioo

dinal median` line .of the holsters B; the,"

center sills.

illustrated in Fig. 3, the inverted U-shaped inner end of each draftarm, which is existent between pockets D-D and comprises web 1 and theinner vertical pocket walls 2-2, has a contour admirably adapted toreceive the endportions of the sub-sills 11.

Said sub-sills 11 may be the commercial Z-bars shown, or any othersuitable 1ongitudinal members. Their end portions project into thecentral inverted U-shaped portion pass horizontally ing them adequatestrength to sustain any stresses they may be subjected to 1n service.

The top flanges are inwardly directed and are joined by a those ofrivets 15 which connecting or cover plate P, secured thereto by rivets15, or other fastening means. Thus, a channeled or inverted U`shapedcen` tersill reinforcement 1is created and'plo` vided with'outstanpdingcenter sill-stiening flanges;

The lower horizontal portion of the inmner end of the' web of each draftarm lies upon cover plate P, and is secured thereto by pass throu h thetop flanges of the' end portions of t e that are embraced by the centralinverted arm. lVitliin the lapping portions of theter sill-reinforcing IU-shaped portions of inner end of the draft sub-sills 11, cover plate Pand the inner end of the draft arm Webs 1, rivetspl are more closelyspaced to improve the strength of the connection between these parts,

vThe lower outstanding flanges of the cenat 16 to the horizontalportions 7 of the pockets D. at the inner end of eachjraft arm. i

. center sills C seated in sid poc Near the outer edges ofthebolstersvB, the contour ofthe At each bolster, the draft arm is securedthereto by vertical bolts 17, which pass through the bolster B, thehorizontal portion 7 ofeach pocket D and .throu h the wood ets. s

webs 2 ofthe draft arm is modified. Said'webs gradually increase indepth, asindicated by the line K in Fig. 2, and the outer ends of thedraft arm pocket portions are of modified contour, as also shown in saidFig. 2 and in the sectional view of Fig.` 4.

`draft "scription,

of the draft arm,

dated vby cuttin the bottom flanges of the Z-v fana sus,

of sub-sills 11 and voeive standard draft firmly uniting the of theZ-bar sub-sills 11- -erl unite the arts indica l Zh p Aof continui sill4, phd be sub-sills 11 are rivetedAv Thus the draft arm is formed,within the zone of the draft' lugs L, of sufficient depth. to not onlyconnect with the center sills and connect said sills to preventspreading during bung, but also to support standard llgs adapted toreceive well known type: o draft. gears. l e lug L shown is that of myPatent 1,042 416 of October 29, 1912, which is of a well lmown type andrequires no further de- Infermediate the web portions 2 and the lowerand more widely spaced portions 2 thereof are shoulders 5, which areaccommo-y out n corner rtion of the wood center sil s as shown in lilig.4.

e lower parts of 'the web portions 2* terminate in .horizontaloutstanding finnges 6 which with the web rtions 2' und shouli fo 11;)

ders 5, opposite disposed' Z-sha d which are pe properly spaced to marsand which are rigidly connected toget er and to the center sill endportions through the inverted U- .shaped formation comprisin the web 1and -inner verh'cal walls 2 2 oy the center sill pockets aforementioned.f

Horizontal bolts E extend through the just -mentioned verticaloportions2-2 and the end portions -of w center sills C-C and are of such number.as

are eegiiired to prope lower portions 2 of theinner vertical Walls ofeach draft arm project outwardly beyond the outer ends of t e upperportions walls 2.and the outer end of the web 1 beyond the outer -faceof ted b theend ing connec as rive te a. striking plate casting S. Saidylowertior-V are also connected to end sill A by connection a les 12riveted to the outer faces of each o said portions 2*. A horizontalflangey of each 4connection angle 12 is se cured to the end sill A by avertical bolt 13 p ililssing through both said. flange and end si Fromthe foregoing, it is to be seen that the draft arms at opposite ends ofthe car are connected b center. sills suitably spaced apart, and a so bythe center sill reinforcement comprising the Zshuped sub-sills`11y andcover plate P. Center sills C are also coupled with each other by theweb 1 and the metal of the pockets of the unitary draft arms. Hence, asufficiently rigid buffing column is formed adapted to resist cou-'plinfg shocks.

I in .extreme cases, due to a causes, the center. sills C should thecenter sill reinforcement will tain a strong connection between arms andwill sufficiently well to prevent wreckage until repairs'can be made.

n the preferred form of said column the urther fail,

or other still mainthe draft preserve the buflng column spaced centersills of wood are securely connected -fio`i'ii.tlie end. sills to aconsiderable distance intermediate the holsters by means of relativelyinllexible .iiiate'rials which pocket .andffstilfen said center.y sillswithin the portions thereof 'which necessarily Yreccive the niajorbiilling stresses. while' preserviiigftjlieelasticityof the wood membersintermediate the holsters to-absorb minor stresses by less frequentconnections between the center sills and the center sill reinforcement.

)lfl it be desiredt'o connect the draft-.arliis' b viiiore rigidiiieai'isra single `:rirder as 20,

shown in Fie'.- i. may be employed extendine from bolster to bolster`iii which case tlie,bi"aclietsi23 Ariveted respectively to thehorizontal portions 'i'.ofy the (.lraftarnis and to the web-'ofsuclrgiider. willv forni a .suitable feonnectioii." and brackets 23 willform supports for the* old woodcenter sills which sliould'be-secured tothedraft arms .y

and to said brackets. i

con'iiectionf between'l the inner end of` the draft arni'llan'dvthe'cci'iter sill rei'iijforceiiieiyitfw coiiip`i'"'ising`'the.'siib-sills'llj and the cover kplate lYeb l at they inner endofthe dri'ift'ariii is not deflected downward', thus savingiefo-per-:itiini *necessary to reduce tlit"lie,i'lit oftheliiineriendsofthe draft spaced'above the latter. ,Connection betweenthe' draft arnland `the center sill reinforce` meint,` comprising Atlie shapedsub-(sills Vll and cov er` plate l), isniadelby rivets ,'19 arrangied'in :horizontal rows` those of each row passing;'through tlie verticalweb of one oftlidz-barsdl and theinner vertical wall 2 of tlievpoeketll)ofthe draft ariii that adjacent'`r liatfZrbibir; ,25, l r

ln vFigs, land 2a 'tie-plate ll, riveted to thefuiiderfacesof the'horizontal portions 7 ofitahe'sl'iaced pockets D of eacli `draft armseento abiit an iiinerlupper edge of the eoiitiguoiis bolster l.Astlieie is al tie.-V

plate ill 4similarly Var anged adjacent,Teach bolster` anv 4tendency ofeitherA draft arm f v i q y i the a'inisbeing*.connected bythe. centersill i'einfo'ijeenient',` to creep relatively. farther rearwardly'oflits associatedJbolster,.is oveif.

come., Foraxaiiiplei,y ifranjinpact isY received by the-draft arm at oneend ofthe car. il'willlbetransmitted through the centersillreinforcementto the draft --irni at the opposite end of the car.Tie-plate H fr and y( illustrate aviiiodified forni 'of'`andl'correspoml to those illustrated center sills fli'e, v a `ahnenjientof said pocket formingsportions;

carried by the latter draft arm ab'uts the' rdraft a'inis held adjacentthe end sills and' comprising' alternately reversing channelf portionsin sonic of which opposite end portions of the center sills lie-aiid are,securely affixed7 and a reinforcementfor the center sills'extendingbetween and rigidly `connecting the draft arins. i

, '.68 2. n combination in 4a car nndenfranie provided VVwithY end sillsand a center.` sill., draft arms projecting inwzirdly from the endlsillsand provided with seats.par`tly yU-shaped and altering to havedifferentl`l forni, 'opposite ends `of the center sill beiiig retainedby ksaid seats andlield lherel'iy A against transverse displacement,.andineai connecting` said center sill"a,nd' dra'ft arn-i 3. .ln combinationina car 'undei 4 p r having end sills and spaced ceiiterfsills,

"' draft arms projecting inwardlyffroiii'theA end sills and eachcomprising; spaced pocket` portionsl in part embracingv opposed A.sideslof' correspoi'iding eind portions off'each of, said spaced center sillsand elsewhere ein-v bracing only adjacent sides tliereof, and' i otheriportit'njs preventing'tlie 'spreadingy of said pocketportions, and meanssecurely at# "tacliingr said ceiivtei-sills1 and d 'raftarnis toAe'ether, said center sills connecting' said l-.Ql'n combination in anunderfifame, for.A railway carsliaving` an` end s ill.; a bolster andspaced center sills, a draft Varm coin-. prisine; yspaced pocketportions fitted togtliesectional shape of and embracing' a greater andlesser number o f sides of portions of. said center` sills in differentparts ofsaid i pocket portionsa portion tyiiigsaid pocket portionsagainst lateral. displacenient I and l other depending portionsextending jbelwiarnl Y said end. sills and bolster adaptialA 4to sup-;

.5. In combination in arailway car underfranief having an end sill, aAbolster, spaced center sills and a striking plate., a draft arm yc'oniprisinnl spaced Ufsliaped pocketforiiiingl vportdraftrear elements,and nie-ans-rigidly]- securing said-center, sills to said` draft arm.

portions in which end portions of saidlfl portion` preserving tliel anddepending draft sill-portions extend# lng forwardly vfrom said bolster,under said end sill and connected to said striking plate,

and means connecting said center sills and draft arm.

6. In a. car underframe having spaced center sills, a draftvr armcomprising a central portion of inverted U-shaped section and `portionson opposite sides of said cent-ral portion fashioned to form U-shapedpocketsadapt'ed to receive said center sills.

7."In combination in a car underframe having spaced center sills and anend sill, a draft arm' comprising spaced combined channel andangle-shaped pocket-forming portions adapted topreceive portions of saidcenter sills, a portion preserving the aline- Ineut of saidpocket-forming portions and draft 'sill portions, and means securelyconnecting portions of said center sills to mid p draft arm.

8.'In combination in a ear underframe having spaced center sills, adraft arm comprising spaced longitudinally extending pocket-formingportions adapted to receive end portions of the center sills, a portionpreserving the given locations of said pocket-forming portions and draftsill portionsl extending below said pocket-forming portions, parts ofthe latter and said pocket ocation-preserving portion forming anotherpocket, and a reinforcement for said center sillsupon which they restextending into the last mentioned'pocket and being secured to said draftarm.

9. In combination in a car underframe having spaced center sills, adraft arm comprising spaced longitudinally extendin exten ingpocket-forming portions in Whic said center sills lie, and a portionintermediate said pocket-forming portions uniting the same andcoperating therewith to form another pocket, portions of saidpocketforming portions projecting below the normal bottoms of thepockets and being fashioned into Z-shaped draft sills, a reinforcementconnected with the center sills extending into the last mentioned pocketand beingr secured t6 the innerend of said draft arm, and meahsconnecting said center sills and draft arms.

10. In a ear undcrframe having spaced center sills, a draft arm providedwith a rear portion shaped to have a series of alternately reversingchanneled portions the outside channeled portions tliereof embracingsaid Center sills, said draft arm having a forward portion in whichsadoutside channeled portions progress forwardly and change to dependlngflanged draft sills.

11. In combination in a car underfraine having spaced center sills andan end Sill, a draft arm provided` with a rear portion shaped to have aseries of longitudinally arranged alternately reversed channeled por?tions, the outer of which ortions embrace said center sills, said dra tarm having a forward portion in which said miter 'chan-i neled portionsregress forwardly and change to de extending un( er the end sill, andmeans"con'\ necting said draft sills to said end sill.

12. In an underframe having spaced een n ing Z-shaped draft sills*l tersills, a one-piece draft arrn provided f with a rear portion shaped toform a series of longitudinally arranged alternatelyy roversed channeledportions some of which are'spaced to embrace said center sills, saidAdraft arm having a forward yportion in draft a channeled pocket-formingportion intermediate said seats, angular center-sill reinforcingmembers, portions of which underlie the center sills and which areclamped to said sills', said reinforcing members having end portionsprojecting into said-draft arm channeled pocketforming portion, and

means rigidly uniting said reinforcing lnem`A 1 bers and draft arm.

14. In combination in an underframe' having spaced center sills, a draftvarm having transversely spaced seats for end rtions of the center sillsand an "nvertedx shaped portion 4intermediate said seats, centersill-reinforcin members lapping said inverted Usha draft arm portion andextending toward the opposite end of the underframe, said members underli portions of and beingl clam to saidyslxs and being conformed to saiinverted U-shaped draft arm portion, means uniting said reinforcinmembers, and means rigidly com bining t e latter and said draft arm.

15. In 'combination in a car underframe having spaced center sills, adraft arm retaining portions of the center sills and providedwith a4reinfolpeinent-receiving portion, a center 'sill reinforcementcomprising spaced Z-bars each havin an upperange directed toward that oft e adjacent Z-bar and a plate connected to and connecting said upperfinnges,said draft arm reinforcementreceiving portion and a portion ofsaid cen- .ter sill reinforcement lap iig cada other and being connectedtogctlier in their la )ing portions, and means clamping nid )ars tosaid' center sills.

16. .In combination in a oar underframe having an end sill, a bolsterand center sills, ardraft arm extendi from the end sill to beyond thebolster an comprising portions embracin op 'tesides of each centersill-rearwa lyo thebolster and one side and a bottom vportion thereofforwardly of the bolster, a Aportion preserving iso 17. In l combinationin a -car underframel having center sills and holsters, draft armspassingr from one side ofthe bolster's to the other side thereof andhaving Z-shaped draft-lugbearing side walls merging with spaced U-shapedcenter-sill.receiving pocket portions, said draft arms being interlockedwith the center sills and abutment means interlocking said draft armswith said bolsters. v

18. In combination in a car underframe having spaced center sills, areinforcement for said underframe comprising channeled draft arms atopposite ends of the underframe and a channeled intermediatereinforcement secured to the center sills and to said draft armsconnectingl the latter, the center sills, draft arms and intermediatedraft arm-'connecting reinforcement having longitudinal] y lappingmutually fitting portions, and means suitably connecting the centersills and draft arms.

19. In combination in a car nnderframe draft arm,

having spaced center sills, a reinforcement for said nnderframecomprlsing draft arms -at opposite ends of the underframe provided withUyshaped pockets receiving the center sills. and a sill reinforcementintermediate said draft arms connecting the same and extending under thecenter sills secured thereto and fitted to a plurality of sides of thesills and said draft arms. I

20. In combination in a car underframe having spaced center sills, areinforcement for said underframe comprising draft arms at opposite endsof the underframe pro.

vided with angular seat portions receiving;AA

the center sills and a sill reinforcement intermediate said draft armslapping each extending under the center sills to aplurality of sides ofthe and sills, and means connecting and fitted d raft-a rms said sillreinforcement to the sills and draft.

arms.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand 1n the presence of twowitnesses.

ROBERT G. ELLIS.

Witnesses :4 Y

OsoAn l-Ioonnno, Bnasnnn S 1 Lummen.

